[4888] in Depressing_Thoughts
core emotions
dcctdw@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (dcctdw@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Sat Jun 22 13:26:30 1996
for a long time, i've held that my parents taught me a lot of bad things,
including hate. hate of people not like me -- non-whites, non-heterosexuals,
the usual. and i've been working on replacing this hate with understanding
and compassion. "i try not to despise my parents for what they've made me"
is what i've said to myself.
and now, i find that i don't hate people, but i'm "just" intolerant. great.
and now, after so long, it occurs to me that the first step is to admit
that the blame falls in what i've allowed myself to become, not with what
my parents made me.
ahh well. no one said self-improvement was easy. nor did they say that
excessive complaining helps it any. :)
%%%%
I find that i get a stronger reaction when i think of people propagating
their beliefs to their children. That they choose to believe whatever they
do is their prerogative -- and one, in general, i can support (self-
destruction notwithstanding). But i find it enflaming to think that some
sets or subsets of values/beliefs will be passed on. Do we not try to be
better than those who came before us? Do we not try to make the world
better for our children?
I suppose it's this kind of righteousness that causes wars that leads our
children to live in horrific times.
